Most fans probably don't notice Stephen Morella. He's the senior deep snapper for the Ragin' Cajuns, and he's a big part of what they do every Saturday.

Morella, a local product out of Lafayette High, doesn't care if people praise him. He was an All-District player in high school, but he doesn't crave attention at the collegiate level.

"I'm not in it for the glory," Morella said. "I just love my teammates, I love my team, and it's good to be a part of it."

As the deep snapper, Morella's role is minimal but important. He usually doesn't get his name called unless he makes a mistake, which doesn't happen often. Punter Steven Coutts and Kicker Stevie Artigue get a lot of love, but it wouldn't happen unless Morella got the ball to them cleanly.

Morella has one job: snap the ball, without messing up. He has his approach figured out.

"It's all mental. You can't go out there and psyche yourself out," Morella explains. "The state of mind you have when you go out there, it has to be of confidence and assurance in yourself, otherwise you probably will end up messing up."

Playing on special teams is a good gig, if you love the game of football. Filling a niche pays off, in a number of ways. You get to play collegiate football. Your football career doesn't have to end after high school, and you don't take much damage. Morella actually thinks some of his teammates are envious of his duties and work load.

"Most of the guys on our team are jealous of us because they grind it out all day, in and out, and they just see us go in, we get our job done and get out, and they walk around going, 'Man, if I could go back, I would be a kicker or a snapper,'" Morella jokes.

It's a good gig, but he makes it look easy. In reality, Morella snaps the ball around 100 times per day, and he goes out on the field with Coutts and Artigue before the rest of the players.

If Morella is doing his job right, nobody even notices. If you didn't know who Steven Morella was before reading this, it's a testament to his skills as a deep snapper. It takes all eleven players to succeed on the football field, even on special teams.

(photo by Brad Kemp/RaginCajuns.com)
(photo by Brad Kemp/RaginCajuns.com)
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